DECATUR, Ill. (DTN) -- My bees are gone. A more accurate statement is they disappeared. I'm embarrassed to say I'm not exactly sure what happened. Onecolony took off last summer soon after we started the hive. My guess is the queen was weak or perished and her worker bees swarmed before I noticed.

The other colony was strong and active and we harvested honey last fall. A few days later, the bees vanished along with the last drop of my beekeeping confidence.

I am not alone. My Decatur, Ill., community has a strong beekeeper club and members are estimating 75% ...